Method of sealing sandwich type carton ends



Jan. 30, 1962' c. D. Kx-:ELY

METHOD OF SEALING SANDWICH TYPE CARTON ENDS 2 sheets-shea?. 1

Filed April '7. 1958 Jan. 30, 1962 c. D. KEELY METHOD oF sEALINGSANDWICH TYPE CARTON ENDs Filed April '7. 1958 2 Sheeu: 2

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States ire 3,018,7 01 METHOD OF SEALING SANDWICH TYPE CARTON ENDSvClifford D. Keely, West Englewood, NJ., assigner to This inventionrelates to a method of folding and sealing boxes of a somewhat unusualkind, and particularly boxes in which flaps are adapted to be adhered toform three sandwich layers, each substantially coextensive in `area withthe box end itself. In such a box one pair of opposed flaps, hereinarbitrarily called the end flaps, are adapted to be folded down and intoward one another, into a common plane. These iiaps may be equal orunequal in area. The two flaps do not overlap. They have a combined areasubstantially equal to the area of the box end. This pair of flapsconstitutes one of the sandwich layers. Each flap of the other opposedpair constitutes a further sandwich layer. Each of these latter flaps,arbitrarily called the side liaps, is substantially equal in area withthe end of the box.

In the box chosen for illustrating the invention, each of the ends, bothupper and lower, is as described above. The upper end, moreover, hashandle elements defined by cutting and scoring in superposed areas ofone of the end flaps and one of the side flaps. It is required that thehandle elements be adhered to one another and that they lie normallyflush with the flaps of which they form parts, but that the compositehandle formed by the adhered handle elements be free to be folded upwardlaway from the box top.

The folding and sealing of the top and the bottom both present moreexacting problems than the ordinary slotted container, the toppresenting greater difficulty than the bottom. Preferably, the blank isfirst mounted right side up on a dummy and the top flaps are folded inonto the top of the dummy and sealed. The box is then inverted, isfilled through the bottom and, still in an inverted condition, has thebottom flaps folded in and sealed. This sequence may be reversed, thebottom being sealed first `with the blank inverted, the box being thenturned upright, filled through the top and having the top sealed.Because of the liftable handle, however, the box is better adapted tothe first sequence. The first sequence is therefore illustratively shownand described herein.

One phase of the invention has to do with the folding and sealing of thebox bottom. It is a feature that the end flaps, forming one sandwichlayer, are first folded in and down to horizontal relation, and that thebox with the flaps so folded is fed past a gluing station while gluestripes are deposited on the infolded flaps one after the other. One ofthe side flaps, which is to form a second sandwich layer, is then foldeddown onto the end flaps and the box is continued past a second gluingstation while glue stripes are deposited on the down-folded side flap.The remaining side flap, which is to form the third sandwich layer, isthen folded down onto the second layer,

and the box is continued under pressure for a sufficient time to assurethe proper setting of the glue.

In the folding and sealing of the box top, it is a feature that one ofthe large full overlap side flaps which is to form a first sandwichlayer, is folded down and in (backwardly from the direction of boxtravel) to extend across the box end, and that the other side flap,which is to constitute a second sandwich laye-r, is folded down and outinto the same plane and into position to trail the first. The box withthe side flaps so folded is fed past a first gluing station while longglue stripes are deposited along marginal areas of the downturned flapsone after the other. The

box is then continued past a second gluing station where additional gluestripes are deposited in the area between the first sets of stripes. Thestripes deposited at the second station could have been depositedconcurrently with the first stripes, but for the fact that the stripesdeposited on the infolded flap at the second station must be shorter inorder to leave. the area which the handle is to overlie free of glue.The shorter stripes require a different timing of the glue depositingmeans. As the box is further advanced, the two end flaps are folded in(across the line of travel) to overlie the infolded side flap.

With the original orientation the box is then moved at right angles tothe first line of advance and then in the return direction. As anincident of the last movement the out-folded side flap is folded overand in, into adhering relation with the end flaps.

As a result of these procedures the box is folded and sealed as requiredin a simple, rapid and economical manner.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification,

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the blank which is to be formed into theillustrative carton or box, FIGURE 1 being on a smaller scale thanFIGURES 2, 3 and 4;

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation of the finished box with the handlefolded upward in carrying position;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the succession of stepsperformed in closing and sealing the bottom of the box, the box beingshown at 3A, however, with the aps turned abnormally outward forillustrating in their full dimensions the flaps to be operated upon; and

FIGURE 4 is a View similar to FIGURE 3 illustrating the succession ofsteps performed in closing and sealing the top of the box, the box beingshown at 4A, however, with the fiaps turned abnormally outward forillustrating in their full dimensions the flaps to be operated upon.

The box 10 of FIGURE 2 is formed from the blank illustrated in FIGURE 1.The blank desirably consists chiefly of corrugated cardboard, the outerface, however, being composed of a printed sheet. The printing mayinclude a description of the contents of the box and directions for use.Because of the ornamental, advertising and instructive value of theprinting, the box is not adapted for tape sealing, without sacrice ofoverall design, `and a glue sealing procedure has accordingly beenworked out as preferable for such reasons.

The body portion of the box is divided into panels 12, 14, 16 and l8vanda tab 20 by parallel, vertically extending score lines. The panels areall of equal height but the panels 12 and 16 in the illustrated box arenarrower than the panels 14 and 18. The panels 12 and 16 have end fiaps22 and 24 at the lower end, each divided from its panel by a transversescore line, each extending the full width of the associated panel, andeach of a height desirably somewhat less than half the width of the bodypanels 14, 18. The panels 14 and 18 carry bottom end flaps 26 and 28,the fiaps extending the full width of the panels 14, 18, being dividedfrom the panels by a transverse score line 25, and each being of aheight substantially equal .to the width of the panels 12, 16.

The panels 14 and 13 carry upper end flaps 30 and 32 each extending thefull width of the associated panel and each of a height substantiallyequal to the width of the panels 12', 16. The end flap 30 is a plainrectangular member, but the end flap 32 is made of a construction toprovide it with a handle 33 which may be folded up away from the box topfor carrying purposes. The body panel 16 is provided with a short upperend flap 34 while the panel 12 is provided with a long upper end iiap36.

The combined heights of the flaps 34 and 36 are equal to, or slightlyless than, the width of the panels 14, 18. The end fiap 36 is made toprovide a handle member 38 which may be adhered to the handle member 33and may be folded up with it away from the box top to the position shownin FIGURE 2 when the box is to be carried. The handle member 33 isdivided from the end anel 32 by slits 40 and by ya transverse score line42. The handle member 33 also includes a foldable flap 44 which isdivided from the main body of the handle by a score line 46 and by slits48. The ap portion 44 is also divided from the main flap 32 by `a slit50. The handle member 38 is divided from the flap 36 by score line S2and is formed with a cut-out 54 of the same configuration as the handleflap 44. The end fiaps 30, 32, 34 and 36 are divided from the bodypanels by a score line 55.

In converting the blank of FIGURE 1 into the box of FIGURE 2, the blankis first folded about the score lines `56 and 58 and the tab 20 isadhesively united to the inner face of the panel 12. This step is purelyconventional and is not illustrated.

The box is then `opened to tubular form and placed on a dummy, rightside up, for folding and gluing of the upper end flaps. For this purposea machine of the U return type is employed, which is generally similarto the machine illustrated in Serial #557,22'7. v

The box is shown in plan at position 4A of FIGURE 4, the box beingdisposed upright with the flaps 30, 32, 34 and 36 extending upward andoutward. The operative thrusts the box onto a conveyor and beneath adeflector 60 so that the flap 3i) is folded backward and inward and thefiap 32 is folded backward and outward, both to horizontal positions asseen at 4B and 4C of FIGURE 4. A glue nozzle 62 controlled by the boxitself is caused to project glue stripes 64 along end marginal portionsof the flap 30 and glue stripes 66 along the end marginal portions ofthe flap 32. As the box continues to the position 4C of FIGURE 4 itpasses beneath glue nozzle 68 which projects glue stripes 76 on aportion of the flap 30 and glue stripes 72 onto the ap 32. It should beparticularly noted that the nozzle is timed to start the glue stripes 70in the area of the flap 30 which is not to be covered by the handlemember 38 so that the handle member 38 will not be glued down to the ap30. As the box continues to the position 4D of FIGURE 4, plow members'74 fold in the flaps 30 and 34 and press them down against the gluedface of the flap 30. This completes the travel of the box in the firstor outgoing course.

The box is thereupon fed through a transverse course over to theposition 4E which represents the beginning of a return course. As thebox starts its movement in the return course, the flap 32 is engaged bya deflector "i5 which folds down the flap 32 onto the aps 34 and 36,pressing the glued face of the flap 32 against the flaps 34 and 36 asillustrated at position 4F of FIGURE 4. The flap 32 is thus adhered tothe flaps 34 and 36 and the handle member 33 is superposed upon andadhered to the handle member 38. Although glue has been applied alongsome of the stripes 72 to the handle flap 44 that portion of the gluewhich is on the handle flap overlies the cutout 54 of the handle member38. This particular glue, therefore, simply dries on the handle flap 44without attaching the flap to anything. When the combined handle 33-38is subsequently folded up as illustrated in FIGURE 2, the handle flap 44is free to be pushed through the cutout 54 as shown in FIG- URE 2.

The box blank is then inverted, is lled through the bottom, and isbrought to a second machine in an inverted position, that is to say,with the bottom flaps, 22, 24, 26 and 28 extending upward beyond thebody as seen at 3A of FIGURE 3. The operator folds the flap 24 forwardand inward by hand over Ithe end of the box,

and thrusts the filled box forward onto a continuously running conveyor.As an incident of this forward thrusting, the flap 22 is engaged andfolded down by a deector and holddown 76. As the conveyor carries thebox forward it is caused to pass beneath a glue nozzle 78 whichdischarges a series of glue stripes 80 onto the flap 22 and a series ofglue stripes 82 onto the flap 24. The nozzle is controlled by the blankitself as illustrated and described in my pending application, SerialNo. 557,227, filed Dec. 30, 1955 which has issued as Patent No. 2,898,-820, dated Aug. ll, 1959, for Carton Flap Sealing Machine. Asillustrated at 3B in FIGURE 3, as the box continues toward the position3C of FIGURE 3, the flap 28 is engaged by the plow 84, which turnsA theap down and folds it over onto the glued face of the flaps 22 and 24,holding the flap 28 down as the box travels through the positiondesignated 3C. At that time a glue nozzle S6 acts to discharge gluestripes 83 onto the upper face of the flap 28. As the box continues onto the position 3D of FIGURE 3, the flap 26 is engaged by a plow 9i) andis turned over and down against the glued face of the flap 28. The dummywith the box on it is continued along the conveyor with the ap 26 heldfirmly down for a sufficient length of time to assure that good adhesionwill be attained between the flap 28 and the flaps 22 and 24 on the onehand and between the flaps 26 and 28 on the other. This completes theformation of the lower end of the box, providing the box with a good,strong face by virtue of complete overlap and union of the fiaps 26 and28 as well as the union of the flap 28 with the liaps 22 and 24. As willbe seen, the glue is projected onto 3 of the 4 flaps of the box at justtwo glue stations, and this while the box travels in a straight course.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described in detail, it is to be understood that changesmay be made therein and the invention embodied in other structures. Itis not, therefore, the intention to limit the patent to the specificconstruction illustrated, but to cover the invention broadly in whateverform its principles may be utilized.

I claim:

1. The method of folding and sealing an end of a box which comprises abody, a first pair of opposed relatively large leading and trailing endflaps each of a size and shape adapted substantially to cover the entireend of the box and a second pair of relatively small opposed end flapsadapted to be folded into a common plane and having a combined areawhich is not greater than the area of the box end, which methodcomprises folding the flaps of the first pair down into a common plane,one into a position to extend across the box end and the other intoposition to extend rearwardly from the first, advancing the box with thesecond pair of flaps upstanding at the sides of the path of advance andwith the first pair of end flaps positioned to travel beneath gluinginstrumentalties, discharging wet glue onto the upper faces of thedown-folded flaps one after another as an incident of the advance, thenwhile continuing the advance, folding the second pair of flaps down andin onto the glued flap which extends across the end of the box, andfinally folding the other glue moistened flap over and down onto theinfolded flaps of the second pair, thereby to adhere the first andsecond fiaps of the first pair respectively to the inner faces and theouter faces of both aps of the second pair.

2. The method of folding and sealing an end of a box which comprises abody, a first pair of opposed relatively large leading and trailing endflaps each of a size and shape adapted substantially to cover the entireend of the box and a second pair of unequal, relatively small opposedend flaps adapted to be folded into a common plane and having a combinedarea which is not greater than the area of the box end, one flap of thefirst pair and the larger flap of the second pair having superposablecut and scored handle elements adapted to be adhered to one another andjointly to form a foldable handle: which method comprises folding theflaps of the first pair down into a common plane, one being infoldedinto position to extend across the box end, and the other which includesa handle element, being outfolded into position to trail rearwardly fromthe first, advancing the box with the second pair of flaps upstanding atthe sides of the path of advance and with the first pair of apspositioned as described past a gluing station while discharging glueonto marginal portions of the upper faces of the downfolded flaps,continuing the box past a second gluing station while discharging glueon the downfolded flaps, between the previously applied glue areas, butwith the second application on the infolded flap relatively short toleave free of glue the area of the infolded flap which the handle is tooverlie, folding the second pair of flaps down and in onto the glued,infolded ap, and final-ly folding the other glued ap over and down ontothe infolded aps of the second pair, thereby to adhere the first andsecond flaps of the first pair, respectively, to the inner faces and theouter faces of both aps of the second pair, and to adhere the handleelements to one another while leaving them free to be folded outward.

3. The method of folding and sealing an end of a box which comprises abody and three sandwich layers at one end of the box, one consisting ofa pair of relatively small end flaps, and each of the others consistingof a single relatively large side ap of a size and shape adapted t coverthe entire end of the box: which method comprises folding a first one ofsaid sandwich layers in and down into position to extend across the boxend, folding a second of said sandwich layers out and down into a commonplane with the first and into position to extend rearwardly from thefirst, advancing the box with the small flaps of the third sandwichlayer upstanding at the sides of the path of advance and with the foldedsandwich layers positioned as described to carry the downf-olded apssuccessively past gluing instrumentalities while discharging glue ontothe first and second sandwich layers, folding the third sandwich layeras an incident of further advance onto the first, and finally foldingthe second sandwich layer onto the third, thereby to adhere the firstand second sandwich layers, respectively, to opposite sides of the thirdsandwich layer.

4. The method of folding and sealing an end of a box which comprises abody, a first pair of relatively small opposed end flaps adapted to befolded into a common plane, and a second pair of opposed relativelylarge end flaps each of a size and shape adapting it substantially tocover the entire end of the box, the end aps of said second pair beingadapted to be folded into superposed relation: which method comprisesfolding the first pair of end flaps in and d-own into a common plane,feeding the box past a gluing station in a direction such that theinfolded flaps have wet glue discharged onto them one after the other,and with the flaps of the second pair upstanding at the sides `of thepath of advance, yfolding in one of the aps of the second pair as anincident of further advance of the box to overlie and bear against theglue carrying faces of the first pair of flaps, feeding the box past asecond gluing station while discharging glue along the upper face of theinfolded large flap, and finally folding the second ylarge ap in andonto the first as an incident of still further advance of the box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,167,814 Richard Aug. 1, 1939 2,370,757 Spurr Mar. 6, 1945 2,804,043Netziley Aug. 27, 1957 UNITED STATES PATENT .OFFICE CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION Patent No. 3,018, 701 January 3o, 1962 Cliff-ord D., Keely Itis hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

In the grant, lines 2 and l2, and in the heading to the printedspecification, line 5, for "General Corrugated Machinery Company,", eachoccurrence., read `'General Corrugated Machinery Company, Inc.,

Signed and sealed this 8th day ofMay 1962.,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWTDER Attesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents

